Prey For Me
by Angstcannon
Summary: The world of Remnant bears a story, one where heroes and villains rise and fall as a king and a queen battle one another in an endless game of wits. Each side has their knights, their pawns, their bishops, and rooks, we've gotten to know them as the story unfolded. But what if new pieces were placed on the board? What if the game changed?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Edrian Marron was dying.

He lay there on the floor, propped up on a pillar and bleeding from a deep claw wound in his stomach. The woman he loved weeping into his chest, one arm around him and the other cradling their son, who cries echoed throughout the massive hall. Somehow drowning out the howls of the monsters and the pained screams of dying men.

He would be dying with regrets, enough to ensure that he would be burning in the deepest, darkest pit of hell when this was all said and done.

"You can't…" Hiccuped Crucia, her tears soaking his shirt, she held him in a death-grip, her strength betraying her lithe form.

"You can't do this, not again!"

He chuckled bitterly, which ended up being a mistake, as his laughter turned into an extremely painful fit of coughing, causing flecks of blood to spray over his wife's white hood. She didn't even notice the red now staining her clothing, too focused on him to care.

"I'm sorry my dear, but it appears it has already happened."

Edrian looked into his wife's eyes, the two brown irises looking into his dark gray ones, they were the most beautiful things, her eyes, he used to joke about her eyes being the sole reason he married her. Of course, there had been many, many others, there wouldn't have been enough words in all of the languages of Remnant to convey the true number of her splendors, but her eyes, her eyes always seemed to be the very thing that captured his attention.

They had left him awestruck as a boy, he could remember the first day he had seen them, he had been nothing but a young, foolish recruit with aspirations of being the captain of the guard. He had always dreamed of being able to protect the Gods of this world with blade and bow,like his father and grandfather. Never once in a million years had he imagined that he would have caught the eye of the great Ozma and Salem's daughter. They had only been children when they had first met, months before Queen Salem turned on both King Ozma and humanity, her kind nature and beauty had drawn his eye ever since then.

They had been on the run for so many years, protecting Crucia with their lives as they attempted to survive in a world teeming with Grimm.

The day that it happened, he assumed he would have died by now, eaten by a Grimm or slaughtered by another desperate human. Yet here he was, a proud husband and father, even in death.

"I, I can't... I can't heal you, I've already used so much of my power to make the-"

He brought his hand to her face, cupping one cheek with a small smile. "I know."

"We were supposed to leave together, you were supposed to come with us…" Crucia wept, holding his hand to her face.

"I know."

"You had promised you would come back alive!"

"I know."

"Our son needs you!"

"I…"

"_I_ need you!" She buried her face into his chest, unable to leave his side. He had no words to describe his want to come with them, to watch their son grow up and become a man.

But his fate had been sealed the second the Beowolf had gotten its claws into him.

"I'm sorry." He said, holding her close as tears threaten to burst from his own eyes, Gods, he loved her so much, he loved them both so much.

Suddenly footsteps broke the silence as another armored warrior ran into the room,

"Edrian! Lady Crucia! The Grimm have broken through! You must…"

Ordaia, the captain of the guard and his closest friend, they had known each other ever since they had entered basic training together. They had watched each others' backs through thick-and thin, through campaigns against the Grimm and whatever evils that their fellow man could throw at them, she was one of the few people he truly could trust with his family. Ordaia was a warrior unlike any other, slaying grimm like a farmer might cut grain, she had even once trained under the king himself for a time. But even more so she was intelligent and fiercely loyal.

The perfect guardian for his wife and child.

Ordaia took one look at Edrias and understood the situation perfectly, she always had a knack for reading a room, though he supposed his condition didn't leave much to the imagination.

She removed her helmet, her jet-black hair falling down around her shoulders as she knelt by her fallen friend and set a hand on his shoulder, not a word was said between them, not a word was needed.

Howls and snarls echoed throughout the buildings as the last of Ordaia's soldiers were slaughtered. Who could have known it would have come to this? God turning on God, slaughtering Crucia's sisters in their youth, Lord Ozma hadn't hesitated to trade his life for his youngest daughter's when his wife's wrath finally descended upon them. Crucia had been shaken by her father and sisters' death, but she knew of his power, his immortality, he was not truly dead, but his face would be lost forever, even if she were to meet him again she would not recognize him.

After Ozma died protecting them, they and what remained of the King's army had just barely managed to flee their home and Salem, but she had pursued them for years, and what remained of their forces had dwindled over time. He had quickly risen to the rank of Crucia's personal guardian in what had become a resistance movement against Salem and her hordes of Grimm.

The war had lasted for years, and it had seemed it would last many more, but through it all somehow the two of them found love, married, and had a son.

However, it seemed inevitable that Salem would catch up to them eventually, she had eyes all over Remnant, they both feared what the mad god might do once she found Crucia, or worse, their son. A solution needed to be found, and two years after their son was born one was found at great cost in one Sanus' great libraries. A manuscript detailing an ancient ruin possibly made by one of the two brothers themselves.

A portal between worlds, right under the old castle of the Gods, who would have thought?

They were given permission by the resistance to attempt an escape, but somehow Salem had found them, Edrian, Crucia, and the men and women who had volunteered to go with them held the castle for hours as Crucia used her powers to fabricate a means to power the gate. They knew little of the world beyond the portal, only that time flowed differently between them, and that humans existed there in some capacity, that had been enough to satisfy them, enough to make the portal a legitimate escape route. Even now, it's swirling colors illuminated the dark room where the torches failed to do so.

She nodded to Edrian, understanding what he wished her to do. She quickly moved to the left side of the room, where a large, white dust crystal lay on a stone table, this was what gave the portal it's power, one of two crystals created by Crucia herself. The captain placed the crystal in a satchel on her hip before returning to the group, her face grim.

Edrian grabbed Ordaia by the arm, drawing her close and whispering in her ear, Ordaia grit her teeth, her eyes burning with grief and rage, but nodded all the same, promising to do as he said.

Edrian then turned his head to his wife, "You need to go with Ordaia." he began.

Crucia looked between the two of them, her panic only growing as the Grimm drew closer, he could see in her eyes that she had so much more left to say, but time was not on their side, and they both knew their son could not be put at risk.

So he kissed her, one last time, both of them saying all that was needed to be said in that last exchange as he broke off the kiss and struggled to his feet.

Ordaia took Crucia's hand, pulling her to the portal as she continued to weep.

"No! No! We can't leave him to them!"

"It's been an honor, Edrias." Ordaia nodded to him, she wasn't one to shed a tear in times like this, but the slight wavering in her voice was all he needed to hear to know how she felt.

"Likewise, Ordaia."

He looked back to his wife, who fought vainly against Ordaia's grip as she pulled her towards the gate.

"I love you." He said to her, before turning to face the entrance to the hall. Tears running down his face as he silently said his last goodbyes to her and his son.

He closed his eyes as their footsteps and Crucia's voice faded away, his name on her lips for every last second until he couldn't hear her at all, leaving him by himself, but certainly not alone.

He would not survive long once the Grimm arrived, but the portal was not yet closed, someone would have to ensure that the dust that powered it was cut off.

He quickly limped to the right side of the hall where another crystal lay within a stone prison, a thin line of power running from it into the wall from which the portal drew its power. With a grunt of pain and exertion, he ripped the power source from its socket and smashed it onto the floor, and instantly the colors of the portal disappeared, leaving only the firelight to illuminate the room.

The Grimm were close now, it would not be much longer.

He returned to the center of the room, not one to be satisfied with dying without a fight, he drew his blade and shield. He was weak from blood loss, his fatigue bringing him to the brink of collapse, but he would not let his enemy see him kneel before them, no.

He would not be the only one to meet their end in this room.

They would remember him by the bite of his blade and the rage in his eyes.

The Grimm had begun descending the stairs, the smell of blood exciting them.

Crucia's eyes once again entered his thoughts, her beauty bringing him one last instance of tranquility as the first Beowulf lunged into the room and charged him.

The creature leaped into the air, bringing a clawed hand down on him.

He caught the hand with his shield, allowing the creature's momentum to carry it into his blade, impaling it. The monster flailed slightly before Edrias ripped the blade out of the creature's gut and slammed the edge of his shield into the creature's throat, crushing its windpipe.

The creature howled in pain, going limp and fading into black smoke.

Another two entered, quickly setting upon him in malicious rage.

He slammed his shield into the face of one, the edge of it cracking the beowulf's mask-like face, and parried the claws of the other with his sword, causing sparks to fly.

More Grimm poured into the room now, all of them set their eyes on him.

He drove his sword into the top of the off-balance Grimm's skull, the blade sinking in all the way to the hilt and erupting out of the beast's chin. As he attempted to withdraw the blade the other Beowulf attempted to attack once more.

With quick thinking, he activated what was left of his aura, bending light to create an image of himself bringing his shield up to meet the wolf. The monster hesitated, unsure of what had just happened, and fell right through the after image in front of a ready Edrian.

With a single stroke of his blade, the creature lay headless on the ground.

They came in two's and three's, and then in four's and five's, not just beowolves anymore, boarbatusks, ursai, even a Gods-damned beringel.

He hacked and slashed his way through them, his wound burning, his lungs filling to the brim with blood as his body was racked by coughing. Second-by-second he grew weaker, and the Grimm knew it, they could smell his weakness, feel it.

The Beringel smashed through the other Grimm, flinging them aside as it brought its massive fists down on him, causing the warrior to leap back and wince as another cough left him stumbling back. The creature hooted in rage before throwing a punch that Edrias just barely managed to get his shield up to block. The force of the blow threw him back into a pillar, a spurt of blood erupted from his mouth as his aura wavered, he had nearly expended it.

He stood back up, taking a stance before charging the ape-like monster, roaring his own desperate battle cry.

Using the last of his aura, he sent another illusion of him charging the monster, the creature took the bait, roaring and smashing the illusion to bits just as Edrias lined up a throw.

His sword sailed through the air, spinning in a perfect arc before burying itself deep into the left eye of the beringel. The blade went straight through the monster's skull, piercing the brain. The creature collapsed like a giant black puppet with its strings cut. He leapt onto the creature's head ripping the blade before deflecting a spinning boarbatusk, sending it crashing into an Ursa minor.

He spun in an arc, cutting apart another Ursa as it tried to get the jump on him.

The Grimm had surrounded him, charging him as he lopped off the head of another Beowulf, kicked in the skull of a boarbatusk, screaming his lungs out as every breath brought him closer to his limit.

A claw bit into his back, sending him stumbling forward as he dropped to one knee, ducking under yet another Beowulf's follow-up strike before spinning his sword in his hand so that the blade pointed backwards. He jabbed it behind him, feeling the blade sink into the creature's flesh, he ripped the blade upward, cutting it in two before rolling onto his back and kicking another in the chest, sending it flying into the wall.

He rolled once again to avoid the claw of an Ursa, which left a cut along his arm as he recovered and slammed his shield into the monster's gut, sending it crashing to the ground, another stab to its exposed chin ended it.

He turned, ready to face another enemy, but was surprised when a beowulf alpha's claw backhanded him across the hall.

He grit his teeth, his vision dancing with stars and his lungs breathing more blood than oxygen.

Coughing once again, he stood as the wall of grimm closed on him, he cut down dozens as the alpha closed in, it tried another swipe at him, but recoiled as Edrian jabbed the sword into it's paw, growling angrily.

Edrian advanced, slicing into it's knee to make it kneel before slipping between its legs and grabbing one of the bony protrusions on its back, he hoisted himself up and over the head of the beast, before unleashing one last defiant roar and bringing his sword into the head of creature, piercing it's head all the way through and pinning it to the stone.

That was it, his aura expended as well as his reserve of energy, Edrias collapsed against a pillar as the remainder of the grimm in the room rushed him. Eager for yet another taste of blood.

He smiled defiantly, it didn't matter now, he had done it, defied a God, ensured his family's safety and the wretch wouldn't have the slightest idea that one of her daughters still lived, taken a fathomless distance away to a world she could not reach, by a portal she had no knowledge of.

But they would be back, Crucia was as much of a fighter as he was, perhaps not in body, but certainly in spirit. She would not leave Remnant to this fate, once their son was of age, they would both return home, and hopefully, the monster that was Salem would be dead and gone.

"Crucia…Elias." Edrias murmured, his mind clouded by the amount of blood he had lost.

As his vision faded, his mind produced one last thought.

"Be safe."

Then they were upon him.

* * *

1/18/20

Ok, after studying some lore, I tweaked the prologue to fit a little more into place with the canon, and while obviously this is not canon, it made sense for Crucia to actually be one of Ozma's four daughters rather than some nondescript daughter. I also made it a little more sensible, seeing as how Crucia would have been a child when Salem turned on Ozma, the prologue now explains why she is now an adult. I also made Elias' father a little more Badass, he seemed a bit wimpy in the first version.


	2. Chapter 1: The End Of Everything

**Chapter 1: The End Of Everything**

The day Eli's mother died, he cried, but now he couldn't seem to do it anymore.

It struck him as strange, as his mom had always said he had taken after her when it came to emotion, both of them so full of passion that the two of them could have written a drama novel if they had put their minds to it. But instead, he found himself feeling almost nothing, save for an acidic taste in the back of his throat.

The day was a cloudy one, the kind that you would always expect to see in a movie when a character died, the wind blew lightly and shook what few leaves were left on the trees surrounding her coffin. Where his mother lay peacefully, in the same white dress that she had always kept on her and never dared to lose or soil. She looked peaceful, he could only hope she had found peace in heaven. Eli liked to believe she was a Christian, converted from some other religion that she would never speak of. In his mind, she certainly deserved to be up there in paradise, but she would never give him a straight answer when he had asked her.

"If it was worth speaking of you would know by now." She would say, it was one of the few times he could hear anger enter her voice, but not at him, but mom was a kind person, his father's death never seemed to change that, and he was grateful for it, even if Aunt Diane would call her a marshmallow on occasion. So whatever or whoever had earned her anger, that cold, bitter look in her eyes, he imagined that the deepest, darkest pit of hell sat reserved for them.

He chuckled silently to himself as he sat in that chair, reminiscing on old memories and vaguely listening as his mother's friends came up to the podium one by one and said nice things about her. Then, they would come up to him, they would say how sorry they were for his loss, then the "if you need anything just call" sentence would come around one way or another. He would smile somberly and thank them as they would give him a hug around the neck, a pat on the shoulder, or simply just a handshake. It was like clockwork, their words were different each time, but their meanings all held the same message.

He appreciated them nonetheless, grateful for the promises of support even if some of them might have been empty. He supposed it was better for him to have a beautiful lie right now instead of the hard truth, hoping it could help him feel _something_.

That truth was that he was almost completely alone now, his mother had no true family left alive, and when she died, she had left him here, but it hadn't been her fault. She would have disagreed with him when it came to the whole "beautiful lie" thing, she always had believed the truth to be the best option, even if it opened wounds.

"Truth opens wounds, so that they may eventually heal, but telling a lie is like drugging a wounded man, he may not feel the pain, but the wound is still there killing them."

One of his mother's old quotes pulled from the many teachings of her own father, she had always told him stories of his long-dead grandpa, stories of monsters and heroes. Still, with all the wisdom his grandfather had imparted on her, his mother had been endangered more than a couple of times.

God knows there had been a few close scrapes, why someone with her medical talent wouldn't have been vaccinated was beyond him, and she had caught several diseases when he had been really young, it was modern medicine that had saved her then, why couldn't it have done it this time? For all of the medical wonders Earth had, not a single one of them had done any good in the end.

The doctors had said that he was suffering from some sort of mineral deficiency, but the problem was that they couldn't figure out what mineral she was lacking. Everything a healthy human being would need to survive was present in her body, but she still began to wither away as if her body was being drained of life. It took seven months for her to be confined to a hospital bed, it took another two for her to lose consciousness and another three weeks for her to take her last breath.

That was where he had cried. When she smiled at him and told him how much she loved him as the doctors stuck a needle of anesthetic into her arm and she closed her eyes for the last time. He had gone back to his room in his aunt's house and locked himself in because he had known what came next, and he was too scared to face the reality that half of the family he had left in the world was going to be ripped away.

So now that it was done and over with, he supposed the funeral was another chance to say goodbye, but he was tired of crying, and his aunt had seen to it that all the aggression and stress he had built up was spent in a…. _Productive_ manner.

But now he could feel nothing, no more crying himself to sleep, no more anger, no more fear, just… nothing.

Aunt Diane sat next to him, her eyes sorrowful and her expression bitter, she wasn't related to him by blood, if the long black hair and skin the color of chestnut were any indication. She was more like a family friend to them, but close enough to might as well be a member of the family.

She was a distant person, but never cold, her amber eyes always carried some kind of warmth to them whenever the two of them would speak. She had been the one to take care of things that his mother couldn't, whether that be a financial concern or some drunk guy who thought he could force his way into her pants. He was sure that she had been some kind of soldier before he was born just like his father had been, she had been a marine for a couple years, but even then she had been a soldier before that. However, after he had turned eight she always worked as some sort of security guard.

Even with all of that work, she was never far away from them, always living in the same apartment complex, the same subdivision, and always one phone call away. Eli thought that she was protecting them in his father's place. They had been friends, his mother had told him, comrades in arms before he died. Diane didn't have anywhere to go after that, so she ended up staying with them for a few years before she got a steady enough job to live on her own.

When his mother couldn't take care of him anymore aunt Diane had, driving him to school, fixing meals, doing her best to make sure he was supported in every way possible just as his mother had. He could tell she wasn't used to taking care of a minor like this for so long, but his mother had trained her well enough for the possibility of the two of them being alone without her.

He was used to being babysat by her, he had memories of her bringing movies and snacks sometimes, other times she would take him to her home and teach him what she had learned from her time as a soldier. With her help, a lot of childhood bullies got put in their place _really_ quickly.

His thoughts drifted to those days, the two of them sparring in an apartment, in a home, in a gym. He had learned the basics of hand-to-hand combat in a style that he could never find online, or _anywhere_ for that matter. She had trained him to defend himself better than most people his age could. His mother, however, drew the line after she discovered Diane had been taking him to a gun range for a few months. He had been twelve then, three years later there wasn't much his mom could say to stop him now.

"Eli?"

He was jarred out of his thoughts as one of his mother's colleagues called his name, Mister Nichols if he remembered his name correctly, the surgeon had a thing for his mother, at least, he used to before everything happened.

Eli looked up from his feet to see the man gesturing to the podium.

"Would you like to say something?"

The young man shifted uncomfortably, afraid that if he did that he may come across as unfeeling when he did not shed any tears, but then again, maybe talking about it would reawaken some dormant feelings of grief.

He sighed, about to push himself up, but stopped as he felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked to see aunt Diane, she gave him a toothless smile, the same one that she had always given him. His first soccer game, his last martial arts tournament, the day before an important test. That smile gave him confidence as it always had, he offered a small smile of his own as he set his hands on his knees and got to his feet.

"Here goes nothing." He whispered to himself, he walked up to the podium in front of fifty-something people, tapping the microphone and clearing his voice. His mother's colleagues and friends sat in front of him, awaiting whatever heart-rending speech he was about to make.

He struggled to find words at first, his mind simply not ready to formulate the right words and send them to his lips. His audience's expressions ranged from sympathy to impatience as they waited for him to finally find his words.

"Hello everyone, my name is Elias Marton, and if you didn't know already, I'm Lucia Marton's only son."

Silence reigned over the procession as thunder rumbled in the distance, he didn't have long, which unfortunately meant he was going to have to hurry this along.

"My mother was a kind woman." He eventually managed to say, "Though I'm sure none of you need me to tell you that."

The reply he received was several solemn nods and silent vocalizations of agreement.

"After my Father's death, she devoted herself to the one thing she could do to prevent anyone else from losing what she had lost. Many of those present can testify to that."

It was true, many of the friends she had made were either the people she had worked alongside to save lives or the very people whose lives she had saved.

"Everyone ends up in a hospital sooner and later, whether it be from a simple stomach-bug or cancer, everyone ends up feeling terrible at some point in their lives. I can't speak for everyone present, but I know when I'm in such a position a smile and a few words of kindness can work wonders."

That elicited a few smiles, some in the crowd knew exactly what he spoke of, Lucia Marton was a miracle worker in her own right when it came to healing, but her penchant for bringing hope to the faces of otherwise hopeless patients was what had earned her the nickname of: "The Saint."

"It is my belief that there are very few in history with compassion like my mother's, fewer still that live today. I make no mistake when I say that the world itself had suffered a tremendous loss when she finally drew her last breath. You may have known her as 'the Saint,' but to me, she was just mom. I remember her returning home late at night, her hands trembling and her breathing heavy as she released all the stress she carried with her each day."

The wind blew through the procession once again, causing the grass around them to ripple like waves in a green ocean. The air carried a chill in it, one that brought the cold, biting promise of winter. The young man shivered on the podium as he paused briefly, allowing himself a brief reprieve before continuing to speak.

"My mother was the only blood-family I had left in this world, and I like to believe that I had cherished her just as much as she cherished me."

He felt the words catch in his throat as he spoke them, guilt grabbing him by the throat, he had no right to say that, not after all the struggle she went through for him. What had he done to repay all of that? A few chores? A few good grades?" Staring at a screen rather than doing everything he could to ease the workload off of her? He hadn't even had the decency to have been in the room when she died.

Eli bit his tongue, knowing he would have been scolded by his mother for thoughts like that. He knew she was happy to do everything she had done if it meant that he was heading for a better life. Still, he could help but feel that twist in his gut when he thought about the fact that he was still standing and there would nothing left of her but ashes soon.

"But in the end? I guess all it comes down to is that she was a great woman, she touched the lives of everyone she came into contact with, and as long as we keep her memory alive, maybe some of the kindness she shared with us all will still live on in us."

He looked over the crowd once more before forcing himself to smile; "Thank you all for coming."

He turned and walked back to his seat as the audience applauded, he may not have cried, but speaking about her had left him drained. Diane seemed to sense this, as he soon felt her hand on his shoulder once again. She squeezed it slightly, the young man returned the gesture by laying his hand on top of hers, silently nodding his thanks. He bit his lip as Mister Nichols thanked him and continued to sing his mother's praises.

Finally, the time came for the coffin to be closed, and he lined up alongside Mr. Nichols, Aunt Diane, and Johnathan Hues, his mother's best friend. As they closed the lid Eli snuck one last look at his mom's serene face, he had been told she had died peacefully, without a single ounce of pain. He was thankful for that, she deserved peace at the very least.

The four of them lifted the coffin into the air and began to carry it to the hearse, they walked straight through the main aisle as all of the other guests bowed their heads in respect. He heard several small sniffles and he could hear some people break into sobs. He closed his eyes and continued to walk, not wanting to make eye contact with any of them for fear of what they may think when they see him with tears in their eyes and nothing in his.

The group soon came to a stop, Diane and Nichols slowly let their end down and set into the open trunk of the waiting hearse. Eli and Johnathan did the same shortly after, closing the trunk afterward. The vehicle shuddered slightly before slowly pulling away, off to the crematorium as per her personal request.

It had been four days since her death, Eli had assumed he would have been able to come to terms with that reality by the time the funeral rolled around, maybe regain some feeling and escape the numbness that plagued him.

He had been wrong.

* * *

After the funeral had come to a close, Eli found himself following his aunt to her car, she hadn't said anything when her chance was offered up.

He didn't know why she chose not to say anything, but he chose not to pry.

"Everyone deals with grief in their own way." He told himself as he climbed into the passenger seat of Diane's car. The vehicle lurched slowly before slowly backing out of their parking space, as it did so the pitter-patter of rain began to appear on the roof of the vehicle, turning into a steady beat as they turned out of the park's lot. He fished his phone out of the middle console, picking up his headphones a few seconds later before combining the two to try and drown out the incessant noise that the rain produced.

He closed his eyes, hoping to avoid speaking for the majority of the ride, Aunt Diane seemed to oblige that unspoken request, wordlessly driving as the rain worsened and turned the already dreary day into an outright miserable one. He thumbed his phone, hitting the shuffle button, a random song from his sprawling library of music began to play through the speakers, allowing him to tune out the majority of background noise and leaving him alone with his thoughts and the music.

The ride was peaceful to Eli, as the car turned through the many intersections and curves into the road, he opened his eyes, bored with the darkness, and looked through the window, watching as leafless trees, power lines, and buildings passed by.

He fidgeted uncomfortably as he felt something poke him in the arm. He looked back to see Diane holding a letter out to him, it had his name written in his mother's handwriting on the front of it. He accepted it wordlessly and noticed the two other envelopes tucked into the side of her jacket. He ignored them and resolved himself to read the letter when he got to his room, reading while in a car always gave him a headache anyway.

He closed his eyes once again, this time drifting into sleep as the music ended and the sound of the rain returned.

* * *

_Blood on his hands, Eli struggled to remain standing._

_He was limping down the hall, the last rays of the setting sun that shone through the broken windows the only thing to light his way._

_He could hear screams outside, both human and that of something else, something, evil. _

_He continued forward slowly, his mind filled with a purpose he couldn't discern, and yet, it seemed to push him forward, further and further down the blood-soaked hall. _

_He could see bodies, people, their faces obscured, and yet somehow he felt as if he knew some of them. Alongside the bodies of the people were...shapes, that was the best description he could give them, big black formless shapes that seemed to fade into smoke as he grew closer._

_He emerged from the hall into a large ornate room, at one point perhaps it would have been beautiful, but the evidence of a brutal battle turned it into the scene of a massacre._

_He would hear sounds as he walked past the groups of bodies and shapes, gunfire, screams, and shouts, crying, howling, metal on what sounded like stone. Each of the noises faded and were replaced with new ones as he walked by each group._

_The room seemed to go on forever, the voices and noises only growing in intensity as he approached a pair of doors that seemed to be growing closer and yet always seemed so far away. The voices grew louder, some calling his name, others screaming in pain before dissolving into chocked gasps or gurgling cries of desperation._

_Still, he moved forward, seemingly incapable of doing much else except clamping his hands down on his ears in an attempt to block out the voices. It did little to stop them, in fact, it was if his hands were speakers, increasing the volume of the din to near-intolerable levels. All the voices were screaming his name, his and someone else's…. Rodney? Rudy? _

"_Ruby." The word left his own lips, the name seemed familiar to him, but he knew no one by that name._

_Upon uttering that name he found himself at the doors, they were massive, ornately decorated, and stained with more blood and covered in claw marks. He placed his hands on them and found them far easier to open them than it should have been. The doors swung open to reveal a courtyard filled with hundreds of bodies, it's white archways cracked and destroyed and the fountain in the center of it running red. _

_Flames burned in the distance as ashes fell like fresh snow, he could hear roars in the distance, see shapes in the sky. It was like a scene out of hell._

_A slight giggle split the air, drawing his attention back to the courtyard._

_In front of the fountain stood two figures, and despite his inability to see their faces, he knew both of them were smiling._

_One of them, a woman in a red dress, stared at him like a cat would a mouse, her eyes burning into him with unmistakable malice. Their amber hue seemed to burn his own eyes as he pried his own gaze away to look at the other person next to her._

_This one was a young man adorned in armor, the ax he carried was stained with blood, and from it, he could hear the screams of someone…. someone he knew? He brandished the cruel-looking weapon with pride and pointed it at him, flicking the blood off of it as he did so. _

_The two figures continued to stare at him, and he did nothing but stare back, unable to look away. Finally, the woman stepped forward and raised an open-palmed hand, a single flame appeared in her open palm, it quickly spread throughout the courtyard, moving around him in the process, he regained control of his eyes once again and followed the flames back through the doors._

_He fell to his knees, an overpowering mixture of sorrow and fear rose from the bottom of his gut and clawed its way up into his mind, he felt like he wanted to puke. _

_He looked up to behold a massive castle in flames, screams came from within and suddenly a bright light burst from the tallest tower, causing him to avert his gaze and turn back to the fountain. _

"_You failed." _

_The thought formed in his mind involuntarily, but he couldn't seem to see the statement as true. He felt like he could have stopped this, maybe then, whoever died might still be alive._

_If only he had been stronger._

_The woman and man from before was gone, replaced by a much taller figure in a black gown, it looked down on him with red eyes so full of hate he couldn't imagine that they belonged to any human. _

_Without warning, the figure closed in on him faster than he could react, filling his gaze as one final voice spoke to him._

"_Welcome home."_

* * *

Eli jolted awake as he felt his aunt's hand on his shoulder, she shook him lightly.

"We're home." She said simply.

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as his aunt stepped out of the vehicle.

He looked out of the window, the dark sky was illuminated by the dozens of lamp posts that lit the roads of the series of apartments, the rain was still going strong, the light made it easy to see the countless raindrops.

He quickly climbed out of the vehicle as well, the rain soaked him almost instantly and a cold wind blew in to freeze him as it scattered what leaves that remained on the trees off in a swirling chaos of fall colors and water.

He fell in behind his aunt as they hurried to shelter underneath their complex, a flash of lightning split the sky as they made it under, illuminating what the lamp-posts could not if only for a second. The two of them wasted no time in climbing the stairs and getting to their apartment as thunder rolled in behind the light. Eli stuck his hands in his coat pockets as the two came to the fourth floor and walked into their little cluster of buildings, eventually coming to their door. Diane pulled out her key ring, fumbling with it slightly before turning it in the lock and letting herself in.

Eli followed close behind, closing the door behind him as Diane gave a sigh, sitting down on a nearby couch without a word. She looked to be contemplating something, she looked grim, but he supposed that anyone would be when they had just come back from a funeral, god knows he did.

"I'll be in my room." He said solemnly, eliciting a nod from his aunt, he nodded in return, shuffling off to his dwelling, he didn't have much of a plan other than showering and going to sleep. Both sounded wonderful, something to help him wash the day off.

"Eli." His aunt's voice followed him down the hall, he paused, turning and slowly re-appearing around the corner. She regarded him with a tired but sympathetic expression.

"I'm here if you want to talk."

He gave her a tired smile.

"Thanks, Aunt Diane."

"Just Diane, no need for formality."

He nodded, "Same goes to you as well, I guess, come talk to me if you need to."

Diane offered a half-smile in return. "Ok."

He turned to leave but was stopped as Diane spoke once more.

"Your mother wanted me to give that letter to you after the funeral, go ahead and read it, I've already read mine,"

His aunt seemed hesitant to continue, her jaw was hard-set and her eyes betrayed the indecision that otherwise did not appear in her stoic expression.

"I'm going to pick up your mother from the crematorium, make sure you have read the letter by then, we will need to speak."

Curiosity wormed its way into his mind but was swiftly ejected by a wave of tiredness that crashed over his mind. He nodded, his mind was puzzling over his aunt's strange behavior, but he was far too tired to do anything other than simply nod in agreeance.

Diane stood before fixing her dress slightly, then she moved to leave, car keys in hand.

"I'll be back soon." She said over her shoulder, before closing the door and heading back out into the rain.

The young man wanted to continue to think about the mystery, but another wave of exhaustion washed over him, forcing him back to his room and in the direction of the shower.

Eli's room in Diane's apartment was fairly basic, a bed, a nightstand, a dresser with a T.V and his gaming consoles, his walls however, were bare, devoid of the various posters and signs his room would have commonly had. Most of his personal effects were still back in his Mom's house, waiting to be reclaimed. His mom had left the two of them the house in her will, alongside everything that was inside it, Diane was hesitant to move in, to say the least, but sooner or later the two of them would have to face the problem of what to do with his home.

He sleepily pushed the door open to find his bed half-made, with the pajamas he had slept in the night previous scattered around the floor. Several opened game cases were strewn about the top of the dresser, their discs in an equal amount of disarray. Yep, definitely his room.

He stared at the mess for a few minutes before making a mildly annoyed grunting noise and waving his hand. That could be handled after he showered.

He shrugged of the black suit he had bought for the funeral, taking his mom's letter out from within and placing it on the nightstand, which seemed to be the only clean surface in the room. Next undid his tie and took off the rest of his clothes before tossing them on the bed with the rest of the mess. He'd hang them up when he cleaned up the rest of his room, satisfied, he dug through the dresser drawers and came up with a set of pajamas consisting of sweatpants and a well-worn T-shirt depicting a certain British sci-fi T.V series.

An outfit in hand, he dragged himself back out into the hall and to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later the door to the bathroom swung open, releasing enough steam into the hallway to make it look like a fantasy movie from the eighties. Out of the bathroom came a frizzy-haired Eli, his skin pink from the heat of the shower he had taken.

He gave a sigh of satisfaction, smacking his lips silently as he readjusted his arms around the bundle of dirty clothes he held and set out for the laundry room, tossing the clothes haphazardly into the nearest empty clothes basket and returning to his room.

Cleaning the room, fortunately for him, took nothing more than a few trips to the laundry room and a little organization. He was grateful that this wasn't his room back home, cleaning that up would have taken an hour at least.

After he was sure Diane wouldn't yell at him as soon as she laid eyes on the room, Eli finally allowed himself to sit on the edge of his bed, shortly after that he found himself on his back staring up at the ceiling. He gave a quiet groan, today had more than its share of emotional baggage, thoughts he rather would have buried under a ton of games and schoolwork were brought back up to the surface where he was forced to stare at them as they remained fresh in his mind, waiting for some random thought to trigger them so they could dominate his every waking moment until he finally found some way to distract himself from it.

"Speaking of emotional baggage."

He sat up and walked over to the nightstand, the letter sat waiting for him to open it, his name glistened in the overhead light's rays.

He picked it up and moved back to his seat on the edge of his bed, these were the last few words his mother would ever say to him. Just thinking about what few parting words she had stirred some latent emotions in him, longing and sadness settled in the bottom of his stomach and refused to move from their place.

He hesitated, but slowly opened the letter, hoping it could provide him with some sort of closure, or possibly even a means of distracting himself from the numb sadness that he had grown to despise.

He unfolded a piece of paper and was surprised when a pair of tickets fell out of it. Already he was left with more questions than answers. Upon inspecting them he found the tickets to be scheduled for a week from now, both of them were first-class tickets to London.

He hurriedly looked to the paper, expecting an explanation, he read the paper over, his eyes grew wider with every line he laid eyes on.

_My Dearest Son Eli._

_If you are reading this now then it most likely means that I have left you and your aunt. There are no words to express the sorrow I feel even as I write these words knowing that I won't be able to see you grow up. There is much I would have liked would say to you, perhaps the first words would be to tell you how much I love you and that there is no force on this world nor any other that could change that, but I have little time to explain. _

_As you have most likely already noticed, there are two plane tickets booked for London a week from when I instructed your aunt to give you this letter. If everything has gone according to plan, she should be collecting my ashes as you read this, and as much as it pains me to do so, I must ask you to do something for me. There is much you will not understand if I give you the entire story, so I will do my best to simplify things. _

_I was not born in America, nor were you, we come from a land where things far from anything you could ever believe to be true would be considered an everyday occurrence. In truth, the name you know me by is not my true name. Nor is your aunt's name her true name. I am known as Crucia Marron, and your aunt; Ordaia Telclaron. We took these false names to prevent ourselves from standing out in American society, you need not worry, however, about your own name, as it seemed that it is common in America and we saw no need to rename you. We are refugees of a sort, our home was beset by an insidious force that sought to destroy us, your father and many others fought to prevent that, but in the end, we realized this tragedy could not be stopped, and so we attempted to flee. Your father fought to keep those responsible at bay while your Aunt escorted the two of us to safety. I sought to raise you as best I could here, so maybe you could live a life free of the strife that plagues our homeland, but as I lay here in my final days I find myself filled with regrets and a longing for home, and I would like to return._

_My task for you, my son, is to carry my ashes to our homeland and to deliver both them and yourself to our last remaining family member, your grandfather Ozma. He has lived many years believing both of us perished in that tragedy, and he is alone, more alone than you could possibly imagine. So I ask you to deliver me to my father so that he may leave me at my true home and so you might reunite with what little family you have left. _

_However, there is a price to pay for such a journey, your aunt possesses a key to gain access to our home, but this key can only be used once, and you will not be able to return home if you decide to undertake this journey. I understand that this would be leaving behind almost everything you have ever known, and so I tell you now that you have every right to decline this request, Ordaia will continue to care for you and you may live your life in peace, but you will do so knowing the weight of your decision. _

_There is so much more I want to tell you, Eli, the stories of heroes and monsters that I used to tell you carry more truth than you know, but I believe that you must see it to truly believe it. So, I leave the choice to you my son. Despite whatever choice you make, know that I love you with all my heart, and if there are any regrets that I may have in this life, it is that I will not be able to see you grow into the great man you are destined to be._

_I love you._

_Your Mother_

_Crucia Marron._

He let the paper drop from his hand, thoughts and emotions swirled in his head in a volatile cocktail that threatened to break him entirely.

How could he make a choice like this?

He held his hands behind his head, taking a deep breath as he began to pace around the room, silence reigned as Eli tried and failed to make sense of what he had read. How long had he gone on without knowing what his mother and Dia- _Ordaia_ had been going through? What would his life have been like if they had stayed? His thoughts returned home, his things, his friends, his life.

Everything was here!

Guilt suddenly overtook him as he thought of his grandfather.

Ozma, a strange name, but everything about the prospect of having another family member still living made him want to say yes.

He sat back down as the two sides of his mind battled for supremacy, once side wanting to go, the other to find his true home.

Suddenly, without warning, the numb feeling in his gut disappeared, replaced with a feeling that he could only describe as a hole, a hole that needed to be filled.

He took a deep breath as one part of him claimed victory over the other.

He had better be able to bring his phone.

* * *

Author's Note

Annnnnnd here we go!

For future reference signs like this: (1*) indicate a song can be played here for extra dramatic effect.

(1*) watch?v=eYf-EsadU7I

Hiraeth might be taking a backseat to this one, I dunno. I may still update it often, just not as often as this one.

I like the story I'm cooking up on this one, so I may keep going as long as I'm inspired.


	3. Chapter 2: The Gateway

**Chapter 2: The Gateway**

"You wanna explain to me where we're going?"

"You'll see soon enough."

Eli sat next to his aunt as they drove through the English countryside, rapidly approaching the town of Salisbury. He stared vacantly out the window as a seemingly endless green field flew by, its vibrant colors somewhat contrasting the grey skies that had arrived a day after their arrival and stayed there ever since.

The flight from America had been an interesting one, all things considered, it was his first time on a plane, which was an experience unto itself. But if he had to pick out a point in the journey that stood out the most, it would be the point in which he found two handguns and a sword in Diane's luggage, how she had managed to get that by the metal detectors in the airport was but one of the many questions that had been plaguing his mind.

When he had told Diane he wanted to go, she had been ecstatic, the two of them had packed out both his mother's house and apartment in two days, sold it in three, and used the money to not only book hotel rooms, but also ride first-class in the plane. The money they spent was substantial, though Diane had insisted that they wouldn't need it where they were going.

That was another thing, he had no idea what his mom and Diane's homeland was even like, the letter had said her homeland was a place where impossible things happen on a daily basis. England was cool and all, but the only impossible thing he had seen thus far was when Aunt Diane drank three men under the table when they went to a pub for dinner, all without as much as a blush.

Now, after a few days of sightseeing and blowing money, Diane had declared that it was time to go home, renting a two-seat truck and taking him on a road trip across the country on their way to Salisbury which he had assumed to be their destination.

Thunder rolled overhead as hours passed in the truck, with the young man alternating between handheld gaming consoles and listening to music on his phone to keep himself busy. When that got boring, he simply stared out of the passenger side window, trying and failing to get used to being a passenger when sitting on the left side of the vehicle.

Diane had a bit of trouble with the change as well, the dent in the rear of the vehicle was clear evidence of that. Thankfully it hadn't resulted in anything major, because if the car had broken down he was pretty sure Diane would have forced the both of them to walk all the way there.

"Can you at least give me a hint? He sighed, turning back to her with a huff of slightly-annoyed boredom.

"It's in England." Diane deadpanned.

"Gee, thanks." Eli stuck his tongue out at her before turning back to the window.

"Oh, come on, you big baby." Diane poked him, her finger gently jabbing into the back of his head. "I told you, your mom didn't want you knowing anything until we get there."

"Why?" He asked, still looking out of the window.

"She thought it would overwhelm you."

"What's so special about you guys' home?" He turned back to his aunt, an expectant look on his face. "What about it makes it _so_ overwhelming?"

Diane was silent for a few moments, before chuckling to herself, or… was it a scoff?

"_What part of it isn't?" _ She muttered, more to herself than to Eli, "I can't say much for certain, I have no idea how much as changed since we left, but our home was beautiful, the people, the scenery, but damn, if it wasn't dangerous."

Diane's face shifted from a focused, stoic expression to one of remembrance and nostalgia.

"I guess that was why I always felt so out of place here, I was always used to being ready to fight at a moment's notice, to never feel safe, I can't say if that danger is still there, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was."

Eli cast an uneasy look at Diane's luggage; "I'm guessing this danger is why you brought the miniature armory."

Diane nodded, "Primarily, yes."

"Ok, I get the guns, but... why the sword?"

"It's an heirloom."

"And you're planning on having to use said heirloom?"

"Probably."

"What exactly would warrant using a sword over a gun?"

Diane gave a huff of frustration, her grip tightening on the wheel as she flicked her eyes from her nephew to the road and back. There was no sign of frustration in her expression, but he could he was wearing her patience down.

"A situation where you must fight your enemy at close range," Diane answered simply.

"There's a gun for that too."

"I prefer a blade to a gun." Diane said, her voice carrying a "stop talking" tone. "And we only have so much ammo, and where we're going, we have a lot more enemies than bullets to kill them with."

Diane let that sink in, Eli shuddered slightly, his mother's note mentioned an "insidious force," but it hadn't really registered that their lives would be in danger before now. He shuddered at the thought of killing another person, sure, he thought he could do it, but there was a difference between what he thought and what he would do when the time came.

"_Almost everyone capable of killing 'thinks' they can kill until the time to kill someone actually shows up._" Diane had once said during one of her training sessions, "_I pray you never have to, but doubt you never will."_

Those words rung in his head like a bell, the thought of killing someone wasn't a foreign concept to him, Diane had made that clear through her constant teachings, but thankfully, he had never actually had to take a life, there had been a time when he could have, but Diane had spared him from having to.

Now the prospect loomed in front of him once again, and he had the feeling that the difference between life and death might be his ability to go through with it. A grim feeling spread through him at the thought of it, and his memories from that day seemed to show themselves once again.

A cacophony of screams, his mother's fear-stricken face as she tried and failed to get to him and Diane, gunfire as masked men roared and screamed obscenities, the studded polymer grip of a revolver and Diane's grim yet determined face as she squeezed the trigger of her own weapon despite the dark-red blood flowing from her shoulder.

He hurriedly banished the memories from his mind, but phantom feelings of dread and fear squirmed in mind like worms in an apple. Poisoning his thoughts and contorting his expression into one of grim understanding. He could feel Diane's eyes upon him once again, though they lacked the piercing feeling they commonly possessed.

"I know that doing something like this would be jarring for anyone, especially someone your age to just throw away everything they know to go live somewhere they've never seen."

Eli sighed, there had been a few times where he had regretted his decision, and during those times if he had been given the chance he would have turned back with a relieved smile on his face.

"And now I've told you that we'll need to fight, that we'll need to kill, and while I'm not sure it's people we'll be killing…"

Eli turned his head back to look at Diane, confused.

"I have no doubt that our Journey will have its fair share of obstacles, but, I've trained you for this, in combat, both close and ranged, you know how to hunt, how to gather, you're one of the smartest people I know, you're one of the best students I have ever taught, and with enough training, you'll live to be even better than me at what I do."

"And what do you do?" Eli replied.

Diane looked back to the road, her eyes turning sad.

"Protecting you." She sighed.

Eli knew that "You," was meant for more than just him.

"I won't tell you much about our home, Eli, because I don't that anything I could tell you will be right or not. Its been so long that our home could be completely different than when I had left it, even the most steadfast memories I have of home could have changed.

"It's only been fifteen years." Said Eli with a twinge of humor, "how much could change?"

Diane frowned, "You'd be surprised."

The young man scoffed, "I was surprised when I got a letter from my mother on the day of her funeral. I was surprised when that letter asked me to leave my home to go on some crazy journey, I was surprised when you managed to sneak two handguns and a sword past airport security. If you bring me any more surprises I think I may question whether or not I'm in touch with reality."

Diane smiled, "Oh, you'll be doing that soon enough."

* * *

When Eli woke several hours later to the sound of rain and the slow jolt of the car coming to a stop. He looked to his right to see Diane, her face uncharacteristically emotional and her eyes alight with anticipation. A flash of lightning split the dark night sky as an eerily excited smile ran across her face.

"We're here."

She opened her door and stepped out into the rain almost giddily, closing it behind her as the car's interior lights shut off, leaving him with only the headlights to see the massive stone structures that lay ahead of it. He opened his door to find that they were, of all places, at Stonehenge.

The wind and rain were almost unbearable, the flat plains surrounding them did little to deter the wind's power, which nearly knocked him off of his feet as the entire scene was briefly lit by lightning every few seconds or so.

"Stonehenge?" Eli's voice barely held out against the rain around them,

"Yes!" Replied Diane, throwing open the car's trunk and retrieving their bags. "This is where we came here from!"

"Here?!" Eli looked back at the massive structure, confusion plain on his face.

Diane tossed one of the bags to him, "Follow me!"

"What about the car?!"

Diane smiled again, "Whoever finds it first can have it!"

Eli became even more confused, where on Earth were they going, was Stonehenge some sort of meeting place? Were they going to be smuggled into whatever country they came from?

The two of them walked under one of the outer ring's arches, approaching the center of the monument. Diane hurried over to a group of stones, feeling over them for a few minutes. Eli stood for a few moments, drenched and quickly becoming miserable. After five minutes had passed, he resigned himself to his wet fate and sat down on the nearest stone.

"Uhhh, Diane?" Eli shouted, "What are we doing here?"

"Going home!" She replied, grabbing something behind one of the stones and giving it a sharp tug.

Without warning, the ground suddenly gave way beneath him, causing him to scream as he fell down a flight of stairs, rolling and cursing the entire time before coming to a stop at the bottom. Sore and embarrassed, he got to his feet as Diane quickly descended the stairs.

"You alright?" She said as she walked down.

"I'll live." He replied, rubbing his sore neck.

"Good, there's a flashlight in your bag, get it out and help me look for the gate."

"The gate?"

"You'll know it when you see it."

Eli shook his head, but complied, feeling around in his bag to find a large crank-flashlight, which he charged briefly before turning it on and scanning it over the room. It was fairly large, with no sort of architecture or style to it. Diane had produced her own light as well, shining it over the walls until her light came across a carving in the stone wall.

"Found it!" She exclaimed, setting down her light before producing a much larger solar-charged light that revealed a huge archway when it was turned on.

Eli examined the carving with awe, it was a simple doorway style, with several blocks cut out of the stone to form an arch. But every block was inscribed with strange sigils and hand-painted images.

"What- what is this?"

Diane approached the gate, an excited and triumphant tone in her stride as she laid a hand on the carving.

"Our way home."

She paused briefly after speaking those words, thinking about the meaning of them before suddenly turning back to her nephew.

"No, not our home, mine." Diane said sadly, "You were born there, but you were raised here, Eli, this is your home now. But what lies beyond this gate can be too, but now is your last chance to turn back, if we go through with this now, there's no coming back for a long time."

Eli looked at the arch, his mind overwhelmed by the implications of what he had seen in the last few minutes,his mind was a cacophony of voices, all debating his answer to her question, he quelled them all and forced his answer out quietly:

"Yeah. Yeah, let's do it. We've come this far, haven't we? No way I'm gonna let mom down now."

Diane nodded; "Speaking of which, do you have your mother?"

Eli shook off his thoughts before digging in his bag and bringing out an ornate vase, his mother's vessel.

"Good, you have everything else?"

He nodded.

"Then it's time."

She walked over to the side of the stone staircase they had entered from and pulled another lever on the side, immediately the entrance was concealed by a stone slab, locking them in. She then walked over to her bag before pulling out a small, ornate box, opening it to reveal a small, glowing crystal. Eli's eyes widened once again.

"What is it?"

Diane picked the crystal up, delicately holding it in her hands as she approached the archway. Eli following close behind.

"It is called dust, a mineral capable of storing vast elemental energies, this one in particular acts as a power source for the gate, it is the only one of its kind on the face of the planet."

She held the crystal near a hole on the left side of the arch, and for a moment, nothing happened. Then, the crystal began floating, glowing even brighter before flying into the hole as if it had been sucked into it through a vacuum.

"**WHRRRRR!"**

The same glowing light spread throughout the arch, filling even the runes inscribed on the arches and humming loudly as the entire gateway suddenly flashed, making a clapping noise similar to the lightning outside. A bright white light filled his vision before fading, leaving the arch displaying bright white energy.

Eli gaped at the sight before feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked back to see Diane smiling, tears running down her face as she breathed a relieved sigh.

"Wasn't sure it was going to work after all this time, finally."

She looked to him, "Ready?"

Eli looked back into the light, fear gnawing at him but the promise he made to his mother and himself pushing it down. He gave a single nod, and with that, Diane walked forward gesturing for him to follow. He did, and the two of them grew close.

"Remnant, that is the name of our destination," Diane said, looking behind her, "Welcome home, Eli."

She stepped into the light and disappeared.

Eli stopped just short of the light, doubt surging forward and stopping him like a hand gripping his arm in a death-vice. Diane's words echoed in his ears, the very same words he had heard before that dream had ended, he had never told Diane about it. What really lied beyond this light? For all he knew, he could be walking straight into his death.

He bit his lip, slowly sticking a hand into the light and feeling nothing, but the dread wouldn't leave, and he took a step back.

But the light wouldn't let go.

"Oooooooohh, crap."

He felt a yank, pulling his entire forearm into the portal before another yank pulled him in completely, and at that moment Elias Marron spoke his last words on the planet Earth.

"**BAD TOUCH!"**

And then he was gone, the room was left silent as the portal remained for a few minutes more before the light faded away, leaving the room empty, as the solar light slowly faded into darkness.


	4. Chapter 3: Welcome Mat

**Chapter 3: Welcome Mat**

The sun peeked over the forest's treetops, illuminating it and reflecting off the dewdrops that had gathered on the countless leaves and blades. Slowly the many animals and insects began to appear, roused by the light. In one small clearing in particular, a herd of deer slowly peeked out from the ruins that they had settled in for the night, one young buck was braver than others stepping out directly and sniffing at the morning air before tentatively taking a step out into the field, wary of any sign of predators.

"_**THUUUN!"**_

A deep, rumbling sound emerged from the depths of the ruins, stirring the entire herd into a frantic stampede, the deer poured out of the front gate, scattering out into the woods. The sound only grew in volume, coming from beneath the ruins as the once-great castle was shaken to its very foundations. Dirt and debris fell from it's crumbling walls like snow during a blizzard, showering the ground with stone and frightening the escaping deer even more.

Without warning, the rumbling noise reached a crescendo, before suddenly stopping. The castle was still, save for a few pieces of unsettled debris still falling off the walls, but for a moment it was if nothing had happened at all.

"_**THOOM!**_"

A massive plume of dust and dirt rose from the center building as a shockwave erupted forth from a room buried deep below centuries' worth of collapsed masonry and architecture. Its power blasting a massive hole into the ceiling and sending even more debris flying. In the wake of the shockwave lied a massive hole, with its origin point being none other than an ancient stone gate carved into the walls of a small cavern beneath the castle.

The shockwave of the blast spread throughout the forest, traveling for half a mile in every direction. Trees were blown about, branches swinging wildly as both bird and squirrel nests were destroyed, leaving their residents scrambling further up into the trees and out of the path of what may tread beneath them. Those animals that lived on the ground tucked themselves into their dens and burrows, knowing that with the unknown there also came danger, both in what could not be defined and what would come to investigate.

Eventually, the shockwave made it's way to the senses of a pack of creatures, wicked creatures of malice and hatred. The shockwave washed over it in a rush of sensation that made their black fur bristle with hatred. The largest of the pack turned its white-masked head in the direction of the ruins. Its yellow eyes may have been unable to see where the shockwave had come from, but it had lived many winters, enough to grow wise to the ways of the forest. It had felt the direction of the wind and saw the panicked flocks of birds flee in the same direction as the wind. The creature narrowed its eyes, stood to its full height, and threw its head to the sky, unleashing an ear-splitting howl that the lesser members soon joined in.

The creature dropped to all fours, the thrill of the hunt boiling in its blood as it tore through the undergrowth with its pack following close behind. It reveled in the thought of tasting the blood of humans once again, of killing, of shredding every last vestige of both humans and Faunus until there was nothing left but bones.

It would be upon them soon, and there would be none to hear them scream but the birds.

* * *

"Ohhh God, why?"

Eli groaned as he forced himself to his feet, coughing and sputtering as he was immediately assailed by a cloud of dust. His eyes began to burn as he screwed them shut and began to stumble around. He vaguely heard the sound of the gate closing behind him as he blindly wandered through the haze.

"Diane!" He called out,his voice riddled panic and confusion "Aunt Diane?!"

"Eli? Eli can you hear me?" His aunt's voice cut through the cloud, barely audible over the sound of falling rocks. He found himself grabbed by the scruff of his jacket and pulled onto a slope.

"Climb!"

He did as he was told, too confused to do anything contrary, he began scrambling up the hill on his hands and knees as the sound of falling rocks only grew louder.

"Hurry Eli!"

Sunlight cut through the cloud as the young man pulled himself up with all of his strength, racing toward it with hopeful fervor as he felt various rocks roll across and over his hands, scraping them and rubbing them raw. Finally, he reached the top of the slope, he grabbed the edge and threw himself over, his lungs finally able to breathe fresh air. He stumbled away from the slope before collapsing onto the dirt, wheezing and still confused as to what was going on.

A few seconds later, Diane rolled over the edge, cursing and spitting as she hauled herself up and out of the hole. She noticed her nephew lying there in what remained of the castle courtyard, and slowly crawled over to him.

"Eli…" She rested a hand on his shoulder, fearing he may have been hurt. The young man groaned, rolling over to look at her with a tired and confused expression. She breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed next to him, laying on her back to stare into the open sky as the castle keep finally collapsed in on itself, filling the way back to the gate with a stone.

Diane took notice of this, sighing slightly as she turned her head back to the hole to watch what had been her home for years collapse.

"Well," She breathed. "No turning back now."

"What-" Eli sat up, "The hell was that?"

Diane chuckled, continuing to do so until she was outright laughing, her voice echoing off the courtyard walls. Eli stared at his aunt with concern, if she was laughing like this, it could either be taken as a sign of the end times or nothing short of a comedic miracle. Considering their current situation, he couldn't be sure which of the two were a better fit.

"Diane...you OK?" He asked her after she had calmed down.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, better than fine actually, I'm _home!_" Diane got to her feet eagerly taking in her surroundings with newfound vigor.

Eli did the same, though not quite as excited as his companion, he was curious enough to at the very least take a passing look at where he was.

They were in what remained of a castle by his understanding, one that had seen its fair share of neglect for some time. Which meant the gate itself was now… under enough rubble to fill a sixty-foot deep hole.

He groaned, falling back down onto his back.

"Annnnd I'm already regretting this." He thought.

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply as the dust cloud slowly settled around them, he opened his eyes to see Diane offering a hand to him. He took it, his expression one of grim acceptance as he was lifted to his feet, he dusted himself off and checked his bag, which had by some miracle managed to stay on his shoulder through everything.

"Phone, console, first-aid kit, flashlight, pocket knife.." He checked through his things, making sure everything he had brought through was still there and in one piece.

"Everything there?"

Eli nodded, sighing as he shouldered the bag once more, looking up to see Diane pulling out a leather holster out of her own bag and attaching it to her hip. Seconds later

"Diane, wh-?"

"Trust me, we're both going to need them." She replied, holding a similar holster out to him, Eli hesitated, reluctant to accept the offered holster. "I told you we have enemies here, and I'm willing to bet this forest is teeming with them."

He cast a nervous glance at the walls surrounding them only now did he realize how decrepit and brittle the crumbling stone truly was, how easily they may break in the event of something attacking it.

"What? You forget how to put it on?"

I looped the holster's belt through the loops in my jeans, ensuring that the holster itself was settled directly on my right hip, Diane walked over to me as I checked over the belt, trying to recall the fuzzy memories of her teaching me how to properly strap the thing on.

"Here," Diane quickly yanked the tightening strap on the belt, securing it to his waist so that it no longer hung loosely from the young man's waist, and then moved to properly adjust the holster.

"Now it should be able to hold _this," _she offered him a pistol grip-first, "without it falling out every five minutes."

Eli took the pistol, his finger resting on the trigger guard as he observed the weapon.

"Ruger SR9C." Diane commented, "Nine-millimeter, seventeen-round magazine, black polymer grip with stainless-steel finish. A personal favorite of mine back when I had served in the Marines."

"Nice," He commented, aiming down the sights of the weapon, Eli had a love of weapons, something he and his Aunt had in common, hers had come from her history as a soldier, while his came from her rather extensive training. He figured that if he was being forced to become familiar with these weapons, so he might as well like it, and when he coupled that with a gaming habit he practically conditioned himself for his love to become an addiction. But now with the weapon in his hand and the possibility of fighting and killing in front of him, his confidence wavered, as did the pistol in his grip.

Diane took notice of his hesitation, his fears boiling to the surface as his breathing quickened and his entire hand began to shake. She gently took his shaking hand, tenderly removing the pistol and laying another hand on his shoulder, giving him a stern but comforting look as her amber eyes met his green ones.

"I didn't want you to have to fight, no one your age should have to, not against this enemy."

Diane placed both her hands on his shoulders, "But we both have resolved ourselves to take up this task that your mother has given us, I know you're scared, but I need you to swallow that fear for me, swallow it until we've made it to civilization. I swear that as long as I'm with you I won't let anything happen, but I don't know what's out there, well… I have an idea of what's out there but if we're both going to survive we both need to be ready to fight."

Eli was nowhere near his Aunt in terms of combat skill but he liked to think he was one of the better individuals that she had trained. He was a decent shot, he could hold out against Diane for three minutes in close combat before he was pinned, submitted, or otherwise beaten, and thanks to her home-brewed boot-camp he was probably in better shape than 70% of people his age. He wasn't some linebacker, but he did have the stamina to beat the best the high-school track team had to offer. Seeing as how his school was the best out of five counties for track and field, Eli felt that was something to be proud of even if he had never joined the team.

"I can do this." He thought to himself, "I can do this."

He slipped the handgun into his holster and shouldered the duffel bag, pulling out his pocket knife and stuffing it into his pocket in the process

.

"Alright," He said, pressing his hands to his head and blowing a deep breath through his teeth.

"So, where are we?"

Diane shouldered her own bag, sighing slightly as she smiled nostalgically, "every bit as curious as your mother." She muttered, looking down at her feet and shaking her head with a soft chuckle.

"Come on, we need to make camp, I'll explain as we go."

* * *

(Two Hours later.)

"Eli?"

"I'm good."

"Are you?"

"... Nope."

Eli was pacing, his hands on his head as he circled the small fire-pit he had built, he had been expected something crazy, who wouldn't after stepping through a crazy portal under Stonehenge?

But still, _another planet_?!

"...Does this make us aliens?"

Diane strode toward the fire-pit, arms full of small sticks to use as firewood, she had been answering questions for five minutes straight as they put together a viable campsite.

"Maybe in a political sense, but otherwise? We're as human as anyone else back on Earth."

"So this planet…"

"Remnant."

"_Remnant, right. _My Grandpa... Ozma, he's...here?"

"Most likely."

"And he is?"

"Was, a king."

"And now?"

"I have no idea."

"So that would make me?"

"If not for your grandmother's intervention, a prince."

"But I'm not?"

"Probably not."

"And you were?"

"A captain in the resistance, as well as your father's closest friend, he was the captain of your mother's personal guard, he died protecting us from the creatures of Grimm."

"And these... Grimm?"

"Monsters, soulless beings of malice and bloodlust controlled by your grandmother."

Eli nodded, trying his best to stay calm.

"Ok, how are we going to find Ozma?"

"I don't know."

Eli blew a breath out through his teeth; "Wonderful, remind me why we're making camp in this crappy castle again?"

"Crappy walls are better than no walls."

"Even when said walls may collapse and crush us?"

Diane cast an uneasy glance at the walls around them, a chunk of a battlement half the size of a human being fell off the wall nearest to them and crashed into the ground audibly.

"Ehhhh." Diane cringed, puckering her mouth for a moment before shrugging.

"It'll be fine."

"Thank you, that inspires _so_ much courage." Eli deadpanned, placing his fists on his hips.

Diane gave a huff of frustration, staring back at the destroyed castle keep with regret and longing, "I would know, I was the one in charge of defending them."

Eli's eyes widened, "Wait, wait, wait, this castle looks ancient, how could you have protected this place if it was this old?"

Diane blinked, "Because it was built before I was born?"

Eli's cheeks reddened, a little embarrassed he hadn't put that together himself.

"Oh, right, of course." He quickly got back to work pitching his tent.

"And also while we were gone a couple thousand years have passed."

Eli spun back around, screaming incoherently.

Diane laughed lightly, still focused on her work on the campfire. "Did I forget to mention that?"

"A couple _thousand_ years?!" Eli ran his hands through his hair, "How is my grandpa alive?!"

"As I said, he's immortal."

"But he can still die?" Eli held his hands up, "You know what? Don't tell me anything else."

"You sure?"

"Nope, don't wanna know just yet, I've heard enough craziness for today."

Diane shrugged again, "Suit yourself."

* * *

The two of them continued to set up camp, with Eli pitching both their tents and Diane scouting around the courtyard. It had been ten minutes before the walkie talkie she had given walkie him crackled to life.

"Eli?" Diane's voice came from the speaker.

He unclipped the walkie from his pants, pressing the response button,

"Yeah?"

"I'm on the other side of the courtyard, I've found tracks.

The young man paled; "what kind of tracks?"

"The kind that I was worried about, keep your eyes open, I'm on my way back."

A few minutes later Diane had returned, her hand on the hilt of her sword as she scanned her surroundings, her eyes were narrowed as she approached him.

"Have you seen anything? Heard anything?"

"Nothing." He replied nervously gripping the handle of his gun nervously as he imitated Diane, frantically eyeing the walls for any sign of danger.

Diane brought out her own cell phone, tapped on it briefly before showing him the screen, Eli starred at the image with nervous curiosity. On the screen was a pawprint, bigger than any kind canine that could be seen on Earth, it was about a foot in length, with a single, main body followed by three toes ending in claws.

"What made that?" He breathed.

"The things that did this to the castle."

"Grimm?"

"More likely than not, looks like a beowulf's footprint."

"What in God's name is a Beowulf?"

"Big wolves, big, bipedal wolves with big claws and bigger teeth, and that's if we're lucky."

Eli shifted uncomfortably, his hand once more going to the pistol at his side.

Diane cursed, "I was hoping the Grimm might have died out by now."

"What does this mean for us?" Eli asked, flipping the safety off his holster.

"Truthfully? It means the woods that surround us could be filled with killing machines of every shape, size and variety, all of them know where we are, and potentially all of them are on their way now to brutally kill us both."

The look on Eli's face was comically fearful, his breathing quickened as did his heart-rate.

"The-the castle will protect us against them, right?"

Diane looked grim. "The east wall was breached in the siege, it's wide open."

"Well, s**t."

"Watch the language, now come on, we need to hurry.

She quickly grabbed the firewood out of the pit, carrying it over to a set of stairs that led up to the wall.

"What are you doing?"

Diane nodded to a tower situated on the northeast corner of the castle.

"That tower looks defensible enough to spend the night in, seeing as how our arrival _blew up_ the keep, It's our next best option.

Eli's eyes widened as he nodded, moving to pack up their campsite.

"Leave it! We don't have time to bring everything."

"Won't they know we're here if we leave our camp like this?"

"They already do! Hurry up and bring everything you can, and don't forget the bags, they have all of our ammo!"

Eli hurried to comply, beginning to collect their bags as he silently cursed to himself, his mom had warned him that Remnant would be dangerous, but this, if Diane was telling the truth, he was in for a fight,one unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life.

"Well, at least I'm not bored anymore."

* * *

By the time the sun began to set, the two of them had both moved everything from their camp into the tower, the main room of which held a number of bookcases, tables, and fortunately for them, weapon racks.

The two of them did their best to barricade any doorways in or out of the building, using what they could in an attempt to hide from the creatures.

After they had made sure that nothing more could be pressed against the two doors on either side of the tower, they moved upward, searching for anything else that could be of use against the Grimm.

After a few minutes, Eli found himself ascending the stairs leading to the top of the tower, climbing them, he found himself pushing open the access door to the roof.

A blast of cold air greeted him as starred out into the late afternoon sky, the altitude allowing the wind to blow freely and chill him to the bone. He walked over to the side of the tower facing the woods and starred out into the seemingly endless expanse of forest searching for any sign of the Grimm in the sea of trees.

Nothing, the forest was completely silent and devoid of life save for a single bird that flew overhead.

That scared him.

A forest as big as this was bound to have wildlife, the climate was similar to most temperate forests back on earth. He didn't remember everything from high school biology class, but Diane had taken him hunting on several occasions, he had heard countless birds during that time, all of them calling to one another, the occasional calls of deer, squirrels, and insects were also a common sound to hear. But here, not even the insects seemed to make noise, which meant they were either all dead or they were hiding, hiding from a predator.

Eli slowly stepped back from the edge, turning to look back at the courtyard, he walked to other side of the tower.

"God."

Bones, so many that from where he was standing it could have been a mass grave, it _was_ a mass grave. The courtyard was full of them, sunbleached and ancient and pockmarked with rusted and moth-eaten weaponry. It was a battlefield, and it was pretty obvious which side had lost.

"My men…" Diane breathed, walking up beside him. "I always wondered what had happened after we left, if any survived…"

Diane's eyes scanned the field, her eyes burning with hate.

"We came here with Seventy-two men and women when I went to scout, I found Seventy-two sets of armor."

Diane moved forward, resting her hands on the battlements as she trembled in rage.

"The bastards killed them all." She said through grit teeth, "every last one."

She slammed her fist down on the stone, and to Eli's astonishment, the stone cracked.

"You'd think after all these damn years I would have gotten used to the people I cared about dying." She began laughing bitterly, resting her elbows on the stone.

"These men, your father, my friends in the Marines, your mother, I can't protect any-_f**king-body!"_

For the first time in his life, Eli saw his aunt cry.

"I thought this time was different, I thought maybe I could make up for all of it…" She said, her voice wavering, "That maybe if I could get you to Ozma, I could finally _die_ with some dignity!"

She turned, sinking down into a sitting position against the low-bearing wall.

"But no, it's gonna happen again, for all my skill, all my training I've never been able to save one person in the end."

Eli was speechless, unsure how to comfort someone who in his eyes seemed to be in complete control of her emotions every time he saw her.

Eli squatted down,

"Diane…."

She met his gaze, her eyes begging him for some kind of comfort, some kind of justification, she looked vulnerable, and in a day full of impossibilities, this was the impossible straw that broke the impossible camel's back.

"I'm not going to pretend to know what you're going through." He said after some thought, " But I am going to pretend like I know who you are, you aren't Diane Marton or Ordaia _Telephone._

"_Telacron." _Diane laughed slightly.

"However the heck you say it, right now you aren't either of those people, right now you are _my Aunt Diane_. I get that you think that you failed my mom, that you couldn't protect her. I understand that you're scared of failing her again. So I'm gonna say what you said to me, I need you to swallow that fear for me, alright? Because I think these Grimm-things are coming whether we're ready for them or not, and I'm gonna level with you, I'm gonna be a lot less ready if you aren't ready first, so I need your help, and I'm not gonna make it through the night without it. You want to make up for failing so many times? Succeed Diane, make sure you can face my mom in whatever afterlife is waiting for us."

"_Please tell me I'm doing this whole 'motivation' thing right." _He thought to himself, "_Please don't let me say something that ends up making her feel worse."_

He offered her a hand, and she looked at it a moment.

"_PleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseohGodplease."_

Diane gave him a look like she didn't know who he was, her eyes screaming surprise, guilt, and was that, respect? Eli couldn't tell, because a second later it was gone, replaced by the same old stoic-yet-warm look that he had come to know and love.

She took his hand, grabbing him by the arm and pulling herself up. He helped her to her feet and she looked back out into the courtyard, closed her eyes for a moment, and mouthed a few silent words which he could only guess were last goodbyes before turning back to him, chuckling.

"Since when did you get to be the mature one?" She asked him.

"I think it was a reflex to all of this impending doom." He replied, trying to brush off the serious nature of the situation.

His aunt raised an eyebrow, chuckling once again.

"Maybe."

Diane strode over to the door and leaned over to pick up something off of the ground.

"Here." She pressed a sword into his hand.

"Uh, Diane? Unless I'm forgetting a large portion of my life you never taught me anything about swordplay."

Diane gave him a blank look.

"Step one: hold sword, Step two: swing sword."

"Annnnnd she's back." Eli smiled.

The two shared another laugh, both of them walking over to look out over the woods, smiling all the way.

As the last rays of the sun shined over the horizon, the two humans found themselves facing the fight ahead of them with a smile both drawing courage from the other. When the howling began they found themselves unfazed even in the face of almost certain death.

"We're gonna die." Eli said.

"Yeah, most likely." Diane agreed.

* * *

Author's Note:

Chapter 3 in da hoooussse!

No? Alright, sorry.

Anyway, its time to get funky with the story, the protagonist has successfully reached remnant, and its time for a bunch of anime bulls**t to start happening. So strap in ladies and gents, because this s**tlord of a writer is only getting started.

* * *

Not far from Eli and Diane, the bird that Eli had spotted sat perched on the end of a small metal window-guard, listening. This bird, a corvid, had listened to their conversation, taking into account every last word as it contemplated the humans' situation.

The bird had been roosting not far away when the shockwave had reached it two hours ago, the blast had damn-near knocked it out of its nest. The bird had never seen anything like that from its vantage point on that tree on top of a hill. Hell, if the damn thing hadn't exploded it probably wouldn't have known the ruins were there at all.

It had come tracking different prey.

But, when a mysterious castle explodes out of nowhere, well, the bird deemed it pretty good cause to put whatever mission the bird had on hold for now.

So, it came to investigate, expecting some giant monstrous grim to pull itself from the remains of the keep and start making its way to the nearest human village, which lied some twenty miles northwest of the castle.

But instead, it had found these two, an aunt and a nephew, preparing themselves for the inevitable onslaught of Grimm that the night would bring, at first, the bird was suspicious like it said, the nearest human settlement was twenty miles away. So what were they doing here? It lingered around the castle and began listening in on them.

Perhaps they had some connection to the prey he was tracking?

But then, the elder of the two had broken down, something neither the bird or her nephew had been expecting, and it found its theory disproved.

The bird's prey was often conniving, quick-witted, and certainly clever, clever enough to fake acts of kindness that would have fooled most.

Fortunately for the bird, it wasn't most and it could tell the difference between false kindness and the real stuff, and the way the nephew had talked to his aunt, well, it reminded the bird of a certain someone, someone who talked that bird out of a very similar state of mind.

The bird had on it a way to get these two out of this deathtrap of a castle, though doing so would ultimately end up blowing its cover and inevitably draw the bird into the two's fight for survival as they all waited for their way out to arrive.

It was pretty sure that these two weren't connected with its prey in any way, that they were just two suspicious-looking people in a tower.

That being said, it probably could have left the two to their fate, it didn't know them, and it business to attend to.

Business that was far more important than two suspicious people in a tower.

But, then again, the aunt was pretty good looking, and the kid had reminded that dusty old crow of a certain someone.

"..."

"...Hey, Diane?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you smell that?"

"...No, what's it smell like?"

"Alcohol."

Looks like the bird's evening was going to get a lot more interesting.


End file.
